Blue You
The Magnetic Fields Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

The moon was singing the blues
The stars in the sky harmonized
Singing it too
And I, far below
Was singing low and slow
For you
And I know
All the world was singing the blues
The Queen was singing the blues
The President played the saxophone
Sounded so along
It was on the news
And from Ursa Minor

In what looked like an all-night diner
Came lonely luminous creatures
Whose only human feature
Was singing the blues
Soft and low
The blues was singing the blues
The dead in their graves
And the gods in their caves,
They'd been waiting so long




To sing the blue song
About you

Overall Meaning

The Magnetic Fields’ “Blue You” is a poetic and melancholic yet playful exploration of the universality of human emotions. The main subject of the song is the color blue, which appears as a metaphor for sadness and longing, as well as a unifying force that transcends racial and social barriers. The first stanza sets the scene: the moon and the stars are singing the blues, and so is the singer who is singing low and slow “for you.” The second stanza expands the scope of the song: now even the Queen and the President are singing the blues, and on the distant planet of Ursa Minor, there are “lonely luminous creatures” singing the blues with their only “human feature.”


Amidst this vast collective of blue singers, the song suddenly zooms in on the person who seems to be at the center of it all: “you.” The final stanza suggests that everything in the universe has been waiting for “so long” to sing the “blue song” about this mysterious you. The use of the second person pronoun creates a sense of intimacy and also leaves the identity of “you” open to interpretation. Is it a lover, a friend, a muse or a symbol of something else entirely? The ambiguity of the song’s meaning is part of its charm and appeal.


Line by Line Meaning

The moon was singing the blues
The night sky was filled with a melancholic tune


The stars in the sky harmonized
All the celestial bodies joined in to create a unified melody


Singing it too
Even the stars sang along with the moon in a sorrowful chorus


And I, far below
The artist was separated from the sky's lament, existing in a different world


Was singing low and slow
The artist was also singing his own mournful tune for a specific person


For you
The melancholy song was dedicated to someone special


And I know
The singer was aware that his lament was just one amongst countless sorrowful songs


All the world was singing the blues
The sadness was not exclusive to the artist, but shared by everyone and everything


The Queen was singing the blues
Even the powerful and famous could not escape the sorrowful atmosphere


The President played the saxophone
Even the leader of a country tried to express his emotions through music


Sounded so along
However, his performance did not quite match the melancholy mood that enveloped everything


It was on the news
His efforts were still recognized and shared with the rest of the world


And from Ursa Minor
From a faraway constellation, something unexpected occurred


In what looked like an all-night diner
A scene reminiscent of a late-night eatery was suddenly revealed


Came lonely luminous creatures
Strange beings, full of light but without company, appeared


Whose only human feature
Despite their unearthly nature, these creatures shared a commonality with humans


Was singing the blues
Their only form of expression was also a sorrowful song


Soft and low
Their sorrowful tune was almost a whisper, but still filled the air


The blues was singing the blues
The sadness of the world existed within the very song that expressed it


The dead in their graves
Even the deceased, buried and beyond the reach of the living, were not immune to the melancholy


And the gods in their caves,
The divine beings, omnipotent and far removed from earthly woes, were also affected


They'd been waiting so long
The sadness had been building for a long time, and finally reached its breaking point


To sing the blue song
The song was a release for those that had been holding onto their sorrow for so long


About you
The entire song was inspired by and dedicated to that one special person




Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
Written by: BILL MACK SMITH

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

SingerKevinMichael

The brilliantly written short film "O Beautiful" brought me to seek this out. Very haunting and yet seductive, it was the perfect theme for the movie and for just sitting back in a dimly-lit place to contemplate and imagine.

luludiamant

Hauntingly beautiful

rcarlos

it's like a fusion of "cirrus minor" with "moonchild"

Alexander Moss

spot on comparison

Hakim

You're killing me Stephin.

hernan ledesma

this song remind me of "My Dear Country" by Norah Jones

Stephen O' Farrell

O beautiful brought me here too! ha - it's responsible for a whole new fan base ..

Sucheta Dasgupta

a short film about love

MISS BRAÚNA

NECESSARILY DARK, OR ELSE IT WOULDN'T BE GOOD.

Scott Wood

me too :)

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